Machine for applying straps to containers



Jan. 19, 1954 v, c, SHERMAN IETAL 2,666,381

MACHINE FOR APPLYING STRAPS TO CONTAINERS Filed Nov. 29, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TORS Y Y a N g/1542414. BY E40F0 I H. 01.5,

ATTOQ/VE YS 1954 v. c. SHERMAN ETAL v 2, 6,3

MACHINE FOR APPLYING STRAPSTO CONTAINERS Filed Nov. 29, 1949 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTORS l/eezvo/v a. sHeM4M BEAOFgYBO c045,

19, 1954 v. c. SHERMAN ETAL 6 6,

' MACHINE FOR APPLYING STRAPS TO CONTAINERS Filed Nov. 29, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG. 4.

INVENTOR5 VERA/ 0N a. SHEkMfl/V,

aenag oea 1/. C045,

4 TTOENEYS.

Patented Jan. 19, 1954 MACHINE FOR APPLYING s'rRArs r CONTAINERS Vernon C. Sherman, Plymouth, and Bradford H.

Cole, Carver, Mass.

Application November 29, 1949, Serial No. 130,032

3 Claims.

' threaded through the machine in overlapping relation for engagement by gripping fingers 1n the machine. Thereafter, the machine is actuated to tension and/or to secure the overlapped ends of the strap together. the gripping fingers or fingers of the machine are disposed below the tensioned and secured strap whereby considerable efiort must be applied to withdraw the fingers from beneath the tensioned In carrying this out,

strap. Also, such strapping machines are relatively heavy, whereby the effort of moving them about from container to container is considerable. Also, where the straps must be applied to rabbeted grooves formed in a container, it is relatively difficult to locate the machine 'manually in the proper position for securing a stra in the rabbeted groove.

With the foregoing in View, it is an object of our inventionto provide novel adjustable supports for a strapping machine and for a container to be strapped, and wherein at least one of the supports is adjustable relative to the other whereby to accommodate containers of varyin size.

A further object is to provide in a device such as that last described means mounting one of said supports for movement relative'to the other into and out of an operative position wherein the strapping machine is operatively positioned or moved away from a container to be strapped.

A further object is to provide an improved mount for a strapping machine, means for moving the mount into and out of operative position relative to a container to'be strapped, and means for moving the mounting machine relative to its mount as to'disengage the machine from a i tensioned and secured strap. I

A'further object is=to provide an improved support for a container to be strapped, wherein said support includes guide means adjustable relative to each otherfor operatively positioning containers ofvarious sizes on the support relative toa strapping machine support.

Other objects and advantages reside in the particular structure of the invention, the structure ofthe several elements forming the same, combinations and sub-combinations of such elements, all of which will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the attached drawings in connection with the following specification, wherein the invention is shown, described and claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of the machine according to the invention, showing the same in use, the strapping machine being shown diagrammatically;

Figure 2 is an end elevation of the machine taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, the strapping machine being omitted;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary top plan view of the machine of Figures 1 and 2, the strapping machine being shown diagrammatically;

Figure 4 is an enlarged front end elevational detail view of the strapping machine employed on the apparatus of Figures 1 to 3, said strapping machine being shown ready for removal from .engagement'with a strap which has just been fastened around a container;

Figure 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional detail view taken in line 5-5 of Figure 3;

Figure 6 is a top plan detail view of the adjustable container supporting table employed in the apparatus ofFigures 1 to 3;

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional detail view taken on line 1'l of Figure 4.

Referring specifically to the drawings, wherein like reference characters have been used throughout the several views to designate like parts, l0 designates generally and diagrammatically any well known form of portable strapping machine. At this time, it should be noted that the machine Hi by itself forms no part of our invention, as it is an important feature of our invention that it is usable with any of a wide variety of strapping machines solely by modifying them to provide means for attaching them to thestrapping machine mount. Sufiice it to say that the machine it is capable of gripping and tensioning a metal strap 53 so as to secure the overlapped ends of the strap together by any suitable clip, such as shown at H. In the embodiment illustrated in Figures 1, 4 and '7, the strap I3 is secured in the rabbets l 5 formed adjacent the ends of any suitable container, such as a beverage box M; More-- over, it is to be understood that the machine l0 includes one or more gripping and/or tensioning fingers which normally are clamped between the naled in a pair of laterally spaced bearings 51 fixedly secured to the arms of the support 42. A rock lever 58 is fixed to the shaft 56 laterally of the support 42. As is obviou from the foregoing, rocking of the shaft 56 in opposite directions will cause the pinion 55 to drive the rack 54 and the strapping machine carriage 50 longitudinally of the arm 42 in oppositedirections. Normally, the strapping machine carriage 50 is positioned on its most forwardly extended position'by means of a spring 59, of an expansive nature, which is interposed between a pair of upstanding abutments 6i! and 6], the abutment 60 being fixed to the arm 42, while the abutment 61 is located on the rear end of the carriage 50.

To actuate the carriage 50 in the opposite or rearward direction, a push rod 62 is provided, the push rod including a T-shaped upper yoke 63 provided with a roller 63 adapted to engage the rock lever 58 upon upward movement of the.

push rod 62. The upper end of the push rod 62 is guided in a fixed guide 64 extending upwardly of and rigidly secured to the base IS. The push rod 62, yoke 63 carrying the roller 63, and fixed guide 64 projecting upwardly and supported upon the base it, constitute an operating mechanism guidingly mounted in relation to the first standard or standard "3 for manually actuating the means operatively connected to the carriage 5D, the latter means embodying the plate 53 carrying the rack teeth 54 in mesh with the pinion 55 carried by the rock shaft 56 which has a rock lever 58 engageable with the roller 63' of the push rod 62. The lower end of the push rod 62 is pivotally connected by any suitable pivot 65' to the rear end of a pedal 65 pivoted to the base 16 intermediate its ends by any suitable pivot 51. It is obvious that when the pedal 65 is depressed, the push rod 62 will be elevated, whereby to rock the rock shaft 56 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 1, whereby the pinion 55 moves the rack 54 together with the attached strapping machine mount 50 from right to left so as to withdraw the strapping or clamping fingers, not shown, of the machine from beneath the strap l3. Thus, the strapping machine IB is quickly freed from the strap l3 after the same has been tensioned and secured.

In operation, with the table 25 and other adjustable parts preset for containers I 4 of a selected size, the support 42 may be swung to the left to an inoperative position, as viewed in Figure 2. After a container I4 is seated against the stops on the table 25, the support 42 is swung back to the position indicated in Figure 1, at which point the machine I!) is properly positioned over the top of the container [4. A strap 13 is nowthreaded about the container and through the machine ID. The handles and H of the machine l0 are now actuated to tension and secure the strap l3 about the container l4. As aforesaid, this operation places the actuating fingers of the machine above and adjacent to the container l4, as shown in Figure 4. Thereafter, the operator steps on the pedal 65, whereby the carriage for the machine and the machine are moved from right to left, Figure 1, to free the machine from the secured strap l3. Thereafter, the support 42 is swung to the left from the position indicated in Figure 2, clear of the table 25. The container l4 may now be reversed, if desired, and a second strap l3 secured to the opposite end, by a repetition of the foregoing operation.

Referring to Figure '7, it .will be seen that the 6 strap l3 may be of a type'formed with spaced downwardly facing marginal corrugations, whereby the clamping tension on the strap causes the downwardly directed edges of the strap to penetrate into the surface of the rabbeted seat i5, thereby greatly increasing it holding effect and insuring proper placement of the strap in said seat prior to nailing.

Obviously, this arrangement results in efficient and uniform strapping of containers, requires no manual lifting or moving of the machine IB except to swing the same into and out of position. Moreover, it is apparent that the device is readily adaptable to a wide variety of differently sized containers 14. Moreover, while we have shown and described what is now thought to be a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the same is susceptible of other forms and expressions. Consequently, we do not limit ourselves to the precise structure shown and described hereinabove except as hereinafter claimed.

We claim.

1. A machine for applying straps to containers comprising a first standard, a horizontally disposed table disposed adjacent the upper end of said standard and connected to said standard for vertical movement for supporting a container to which straps are to be applied, means operatively connected to said standard for holding said table in a select position of its vertical movement, a second standard arranged in spaced relation with respect to said first standard, a horizontally disposed support arranged in superimposed spaced relation with respect to said table and connected at one end to said second standard for vertical movement relative to said table and for rotational movement about said second standard as an axis, a carriage extending longitudinally of said support and having one end adjacent to and spaced from the other end of said support, said carriage being connected intermediate its ends to said support for longitudinal extensile and contractile movement with respect to the other end of said support, means on said one end of said carriage for attachment of a strapping machine thereto, means operatively connected to said carriage for effecting the extensile and contractile movement of the latter, and operating mechanism guidingly mounted in relation to said first standard for manually actuating the means operatively connected to said carriage.

2. A machine for applying straps to containers comprising a first standard, a horizontally disposed table disposed adjacent the upper end of said standard and connected to said standard for vertical movement for supporting a container to which straps are to be applied, means operatively connected to said standard for holding said table in a select position of its vertical movement, a second standard arranged in spaced relation with respect to said first standard, a horizontally disposed support arranged in superimposed spaced relation with respect to said table and connected at one end to said second standard for vertical movement relative to said table and for rotational movement about said second standard as an axis, a carriage extending longitudinally of said support and having one end adjacent to and spaced from the other end of said support, said carriage being connected intermediate its ends to said support for longitudinal extensile and contractile movement with respect to the other end of said support, means on said one end of said 

